World No.6 Georgina Kennedy returns as the No.1 seed for this year’s British National Championships, the third consecutive time that she has occupied the top spot in the women’s draw and is still yet to claim the title.
The 27-year-old reached her highest World Ranking of World No.5 last season, reaching the semi-finals of 10 events and claiming two victories. These were particular highlights in a season where she competed in 17 PSA World Tour events, the second highest of any player inside the top 40.
Kennedy revealed that despite the hectic schedule, she is grateful that the Nationals is at the start of the season as it can give the opportunity to gain some momentum heading into the new PSA season and hopefully claim the title.
“I’m really excited to start the season with the nationals,” says Kennedy.
“It’s a very packed and hectic season so there aren’t really many other dates we can play the nationals, so I think it’s really great that we get to test ourselves with some tough matches before the PSA season starts.”
“I’ve never won this title before and it would mean so much to me if I did! I am the top seed again this year so I’m going to give it my all and hope that 2024 will be the year I finally get my hands on it!”
England now have 8 female players inside the world’s top 50, showcasing the strength in depth that they have. Kennedy explains how much the top players in the world have inspired the chasing pack and is pleased to see more females playing on the PSA World Tour.
“The women’s game is definitely getting stronger and stronger. I think the top girls on the PSA World Tour have continued to raise the standard every year and everyone else is trying to match them to stay as close as possible.
“There are also some extremely good juniors coming through who are also pushing everyone to raise their level and it’s great to see. More females are playing on the PSA World Tour these days so that in itself is a reason for the increasing strength and depth of the tour.”
Kennedy’s 2023/24 season ended at the Xbox PSA World Tour Finals at the end of June, but with a busy summer period coming up again for the leading English woman, she’s hoping to remain fresh and fit heading into the Nationals and new PSA season.
“With the Nationals being held so early for the past two years, I haven’t had a proper pre-season in years! We had the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and this year and last year I have been running summer camps at Open Squash in New York City in July. Because of this, I have about two weeks either side of these camps to train for nationals.
“I make sure that I keep training whilst I am doing my squash camps but the main aim is to keep fit and fresh for the season ahead. I am always doing a lot of physical work so in the two weeks before and after my summer camps, I try and do as many technical sessions as possible!”
Kennedy will open her account against a qualifier in round one on the 14th August at St Georges Hill.
Action will be streamed live on SQUASHTV. For updates on the British National Squash Championships, visit the official tournament website or follow England Squash on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
